Chicago exhibition center modifying windows to prevent bird strikes after massive kill last year

CHICAGO — An exhibition center on Chicago’s lakefront has launched a $1.2 million effort to prevent bird strikes after hundreds of songbirds crashed into the building in one night last fall. The McCormick Place Lakeside Center began installing film etched with tiny dots on its windows in June, the Chicago Tribune reported. Nearly 1,000 songbirds migrating south perished in one night last October after crashing into the center’s 200 yards of windows, the result of a confluence of factors including prime migration conditions, rain and the low-slung exhibition hall’s lights and window-lined walls, according to avian experts. New York City has taken to shutting off the twin beams of light symbolizing the World Trade Center for periods of time during its annual Sept. 11 memorial ceremony to prevent birds from becoming trapped in the light shafts.